Shohei Ohtani Will Be Part of 6-Man Rotation for Angels, Mike Scioscia Says

The Los Angeles Angels have outlined a plan for Shohei Ohtani to be a two-way player, but the bulk of his playing time will come as a starting pitcher.

Per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday the team will utilize a six-man rotation that will allow Ohtani to have more days between starts to hit:

“He’s going to get the most looks as a pitcher. If he can pitch to his capabilities, that will always influence your team more than what he would do hitting. But that’s not to say he won’t have a chance to be a difference-maker on the offensive end, too.

“There’s a certain novelty to it. You’ve had Madison Bumgarner swing the bat with the Giants, but not like we’re trying to implement with Shohei. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of an issue. We need him to pitch. He’s a big part of our rotation. Secondary to that, when he has an opportunity to swing the bat, we definitely want to take a look at him.”

After Ohtani signed with the Angels in December, the team said it intended to use the Japanese phenom as a pitcher and hitter.

“We definitely plan on him being a two-way player, there’s no doubt about that,” Sciosciatold reportersat Ohtani’s introductory press conference.

Ranked as baseball’s No. 1 prospect for 2018 byMLB.com, Ohtani is rated higher as a pitcher (70 overall grade) than as a hitter (60 overall grade), but projects as a well above-average big leaguer in either case.

In five seasons with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters, Ohtani had an .859 OPS with 48 home runs in 403 games and a 2.52 ERA with 624 strikeouts in 543 innings.